Antenna device



Aug. 30, 1938.

A. B. BAYLIS ANTENNA DEVICE Filed 001;. 26, 1936 INVENTOR AB. BAYLIS BYATTORN EY Patented Aug. 30, 1938 UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFIQE ANTENNADEVICE Adelaide B. Baylis, Bedford, N. Y., assignor to Radio Corporationof America, a corporation of Delaware Application October 26, 1936,Serial No. 107,580

An object of this invention is 4 Claims.

to provide an antenna for a radio receiver which may be Very cheaplyconstructed and yet is lector of energy and also has a emcient as acolgood appearance.

parallel portions and retaining these portions in space support relationby means of a corrugated proceeds.

For a better understanding of the invention,

reference is made. to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of the antenna unit shown connected up to a radioreceiver,

Figure 2 is a perspective view antenna unit,

of one end of the Figure 3 is a rear view of the antenna unit, andFigure 4 is a perspective view, partly broken away, showing the antennawithin a carrying case of a radio receiver.

Referring to the drawing, the

antenna unit 3 is preferably composed of a long strip of corrugatedcardboard comprising front and rear walls l and 6 which are joinedtogether by the corrugated sheet lfl, these portions being preferablyformed of cardboard, or similar fibrous material. As shown in Fig. 3,slits 12 are formed through the rear wall 6 and the corrugated sheet inat one or more places intermediate the ends of the unit where it isdesired to fold the same, these slits,

of course, not extending through the front wall 1.

The antenna wire H, which may be of stranded in Fig. 3.

The upper strand of wire is then extended to the right hand end of theupper corrugation and then brought down by means of a small loop intothe next lower corrugation, as

clearly shown in Fig. 2. This second strand is then extended within thesecond corrugation to the left hand end of the unit whereupon the wireis laid into the third corrugation and extended to the right hand endthereof.

This lacing of the wire back and forth through the successive corru-'gations is continued until all the corrugations have been filled, theend of the wire then serves as a lead wire 2 being brought out of asmall aperture l5 in the wall 6. It is thereby seen that the antennaconsists of a plurality of parallel strands of wire which are maintainedin parallel relation by the successive corrugations of the sheet l0. Inorder to improve the appearance of the unit, a paper, or cloth bindingstrip 8 may be cemented to the top edge of the cardboard, as shown inFig. 2, and the ends may be similarly protected by binding strips 9.Also a binding strip 8 may be cemented in a vertical position over theportions of wall I which are directly opposite the slits 12 tostrengthen the unit at these places where it is to be folded. The panelsthus formed in the front wall 1 may be decorated in any suitable manner,as by the pictures 5, in order to enhance the appearance of the unit.

When in use the antenna unit may have theouter panels bent slightlyforward so that each of the three panels is in a different plane so thatit is self-supporting, as shown in Fig. l, where it is set up on top ofany suitable support, such as a mantelpiece 4 and the lead portion 2connected to the antenna terminal of radio receiver I which may besupported on any suitable support nearby, such as a table 3'.

I have found that such a unit when made from 2 to 3 feet long and havinga height of 6 or 8 inches provides sufficient conductor to pick up asubstantial amount of signal energy and to make an eflicient antenna.Such a unit is rather cumbersome to transport if not folded up in somemanner. I have found that it may be made quite compact and easilytransported by folding it so that its walls are at substantially andinserting it within the carrying case M of the radio receiver, as shownin Fig. 4. When so placed within the carrying case, it will be seen thatthe antenna unit serves as a packing or protection for the receiver toprevent its damage or dis figurement from any knocks or blows which maybe communicated to the carrying case. With such an outfit, when it isdesired to receive radio signals, the operator merely has to remove thereceiver and antenna unit from the carrying case, set the antenna unitup on a suitable support near the receiver and connect the lead wire 2to the antenna terminal of the receiver. The operator is then ready toturn the power on the receiver and to tune in a desired station withoutthe tedious bother of mounting and supporting the usual type of antenna.

While I have shown only a single form of my invention, it is to beunderstood that its scope is not limited to the form shown but is onlyintended to be limited by the scope of the following claims and theknown prior art.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. An antenna unit comprising a sheet of corrugated insulation materialwhich is several times longer than its height, means formed in thecorrugated sheet whereby it is capable of being supported in an uprightposition on one of its longer edges, and a flexible conductor havingparallel strands extending back and forth between the corrugations.

2. An antenna unit comprising a corrugated sheet of insulation material,front and rear parallel walls for confining the corrugated sheetthcrebetween, said corrugated sheet being several times longer than itsheight, a vertical slit formed across one of said walls and thecorrugated sheet, and a flexible conductor extending back and forththrough the successive corrugations of the sheet, whereby the unit maybe easily folded in the region of the slit and supported in an uprightposition on one of its longitudinal edges.

3. An antenna device comprising a continuous member in the form of asheet and having a greater longitudinal extent than its height, aconductor carried by said member and wound back and forth to provide anantenna of substantial length, said sheet member having at least onevertical flexible joint at an intermediate portion whereby the sectionsdefined thereby are movable out of line to enable the sheet member to bestood on edge in operative position.

4. An antenna device comprising a continuous sheet member of narrowwidth and incapable of being self supporting on edge, said sheet memberbeing of greater longitudinal extent than its height, a continuousconductor carried by said member and wound back and forth in a longitudinal direction, said sheet member having a plurality of verticalflexible joints at spaced intermediate portions whereby the sectionsdefined thereby are movable out of line for disposition in differentplanes to enable the sheet member to be stood on edge in operativeposition.

ADELAIDE B. BAYLIS.

